Modules

Prerequisites

Contents

After an introduction to the microbial world, the course will provide an overview of the diversity, structure, and functioning of microbial communities. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding microorganisms as members of complex and dynamic communities rather than as isolated organisms. Students will learn how microbial interactions shape community composition, stability, and function, and how these interactions influence ecosystem processes in environmental, agricultural, and host-associated habitats. The lecture series will introduce the principles and methodologies used to investigate microbial communities, including cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent approaches, high-throughput sequencing technologies, and multi-omics methods. Concepts for the characterization of microbial diversity, community structure, microbial interactions, and community function will be presented, together with approaches for the analysis and interpretation of microbiome data. Furthermore, the course will explore the ecological and biotechnological relevance of microbiomes and discuss how microbial communities contribute to ecosystem functioning, human and environmental health, and sustainable biotechnological applications. Building on this knowledge, students will be introduced to emerging concepts in synthetic microbiology, including the design, engineering, and manipulation of microbial communities for specific functions.

Learning outcomes

The "Synthetic Microbiology" module promotes the interactive work and learning of the participating students by combining different teaching disciplines such as a lecture series, a seminar and a practical course. The ability of the students to work in teams will be stimulated by discussing current literature in the context of the lecture content. After successfully completing the module, the students will have acquired competences in terms of self-organization and communication skills in addition to the acquired specialized scientific knowledge. Moreover, the use of a correct scientific language for communication and the presentation of scientific data will be trained.

Assessment

The final module grade is composed of a written module examination (60%) and a continuous assessment component (40%). Written Module Examination (60%) Written examination (90 minutes). Continuous Assessment (40%) The continuous assessment component consists of three practical data analysis assignments and one oral presentation. Students will complete three practical exercises covering key aspects of microbiome data analysis. Each exercise will involve the analysis of a provided dataset using R and the submission of a short report (2–3 pages) summarizing the analytical approach, results, and interpretation. Topics may include microbial community composition, diversity metrics, ordination methods, statistical analysis, data visualization, and the ecological interpretation of microbiome data. The results of the assignments will be presented in a short oral presentation (15 minutes) followed by a discussion and questions (10 minutes). Weighting of the Continuous Assessment: • Practical assignments (three reports): 20% • Oral presentation and discussion: 20%